San Francisco, Asian Art Museum. Perego Skate:
Yeah, blurry. You have no idea how tricky it is to snap these things on the fly; not to mention that I really wasn’t at the museum to check out the strollers. Honest.
Archive for the 'Spotted In The Wild' Category
San Francisco, The Mission. Maxi-Cosi Foray:
Hope you don’t use the excellent Firefox browser when attempting to look up Maxi-Cosi. Even with scripting enabled, I get no images on the site. Nice work, Dorel programmers!
Related: Another SF spot, in Japantown. Same city, different Foray.
San Francisco, the Zoo. Perego Venezia:
Not a glamour-puss, but, as standard strollers go, a versatile workhorse, as this one amply demonstrates. These are sturdy critters, with ride-on platforms front and back, a reversible handle, and pram-ability, achieved by lowering the seat-back, raising the footrest and/or adding the boot. It is a flat fold, which means it needs a pretty broad plane when collapsed, but look at that lovely, roomy seat!
San Francisco, Bush Street. Quinny Buzz 3 in Capri:
San Francisco: More Quinnys per square mile than anywhere — and most of those the marvelous Buzz. Are they really all over the place, or does it just seem so? I admit that, to my mind, a Buzz seems far better suited to life on San Francisco’s hills than the rather more stodgy, and bulkier, Bugaboo. But perhaps that’s not all there is to it . . .
A Bugaboo is an easy choice; a follower’s choice, if you will. A Buzz, on the other hand, is quirkier, better suited for those who are perhaps more inclined to think for themselves. More like, say, San Franciscans, than Manhattanites. You know it’s true: A Bugaboo in Manhattan is just a cliché. A Buzz in San Francisco melds creative engineering and romance, and it just doesn’t get better than that.
San Francisco. Quinny Buzz. Union Square:
In theory, you shouldn’t be able to hang this quantity of baggage off a stroller handle, but apparently it works just fine with a Buzz — at least as long as there’s a kid counterweight. I confess to loving this profile (more so without the bags), but it’s smarter to buy a Buzz 4 now that they’re available. Virtually the same profile, but greater stability.
San Francisco. Japantown. Chicco CtO.6:
Found everywhere. Sufficiently ubiquitous to abandon, apparently with no fear of theft.
Yeah, I know, another one. Japantown was notable, though, on several visits, for the generally higher quality of strollers out and about than are usually found elsewhere. This one’s a really good choice – probably the best choice – at the low end of the price spectrum, even if it doesn’t make my heart sing like a Buzz, an UppaBaby or a Mutsy.
It’s “key-ko” by the way, not “chico”. But your little chico can have a nice ride in it.
Edited 2/28/2010 to replace accidentally lost text.
San Francisco: Japantown. UPPABaby Vista:
With plastic baby carrier. I’m not sure what the demographics actually are, but San Francisco seems to abound with UPPABabys pushed by guys in low, baggy pants as opposed to the more typical suburban-appearing moms.
I’m not sure that those guys would have been pushing any baby stroller five years ago, much less a higher-end designer-type. Is it revolutionary? Is it social commentary (like rappers adopting Gucci and Chanel to turn the luxury establishment on its head)? Is it an appreciation of a good ride?
Maybe somebody just had a fire sale in an unexpected neighborhood. I love it; I’m all for good strollers for everybody. A decent buggy means more and happier walkies for everyone, baby included.
(You can see — barely — that a mom was, in fact, pushing this particular Vista at the time I snapped this shot, but the guys had been walking it earlier; my observation still stands.)
San Francisco. Japantown. Maclaren Easy Traveller Car Seat Carrier. Loaded to the gills, which shows off a major feature — a huge, usable basket:
I’ve never understood why people buy the Graco and Kolcraft versions so much more frequently than this Mac model. It’s basically a stripped-out Volo, meaning that the frame is lean and light, it’s highly maneuverable, and it’s actually got working wheels.
Of course, I don’t understand the US passion for carrying babies around in plastic crates in the first place. In what universe is it a good idea to keep a baby stuffed into these horrors for hours on end?
No, I don’t buy the argument that if you take her out of her car seat, she’ll wake up. If she wakes up, that’s a clue — you’re supposed to be interacting with her. And that’s a good thing; a baby who gets used to the exact same, unstimulated environment early on is missing a ton of opportunities to get used to adapting to the changing world around him — during the moths when it’s most important for him to be soaking it up.
Get a stroller or pram you love, and let your little person wiggle, kick, and interact (or sleep without being mashed to bits) to his or her heart’s content. It’s good for both body and the soul. Yours, too.
San Francisco. Japantown. Maxi-Cosi Foray:
Fully loaded, and trucking along. I like the concept, but am not crazy about the execution: Nobody in any store where I’ve seen a Foray has been able to fold it. This not good. It’s got the handle, and the feel, of a much less expensive stroller. I’d like to love it, but I just can’t.
San Francisco, Union Square. Bugaboo Bee:
The interesting thing is, why don’t I see more Bees around? They fold better than other Bugs, and they’re easier to handle, so they should win on practicality. They’re lean and sleek. On the other hand, the “bed” is a bit kludgey, and the seat looks uncomfortably narrow for a snowsuit.
I’ll bet it’s a cachet issue. If you have to have a Bugaboo, why not go all the way? It’s just possible that not everyone you see will instantly know you’re driving a Bug if it’s the lowly Bee. I hope that’s enough comfort when you’re trying to fold the thing.